INSIDE PERSPECTIVES of AS & Neurodiversity

 

 

 

ALTERED STATES

 

 

   There are many different types of altered states. They can be light or deep; voluntary or involuntary; physical, emotional, mental or intuitive in origin; beneficial or counterproductive; and include any state of mind from being hyper-aware, hyper-focused or inspired to totally zoned out.

 

   It is not easy for others to tell the difference – or even if a person is in an altered state or not. One clue is that if someone is reading, writing, painting, meditating, listening to music, dancing, watching a film, playing or working with something and does not look up and make eye contact when you walk into the room, that person may be in one altered state or another.

 

   Besides occurring spontaneously, different types of altered states may be induced by flickering light (e.g. from TV & computer monitors, fluorescent lights), electromagnetic stimulation of the brain, music, repetitive movements (e.g. rocking back-&-forth), drugs, air-born chemicals, pain, shock, fear, sex, stress, sensory overload, allergic reaction, fatigue, precipitation, deep concentration, meditation, prayer, contemplation and hypnosis.

 

 

SPACING OUT

 

   Spacing out is something very common to autistic and intuitive people. There may be many types, degrees and causes for it.

 

   “I have experienced several types of what might be called altered states of consciousness.  Some of them might be related to epilepsy.  (I now believe I had epilepsy as a teen, but tested negative because of poor testing available at the time.)  Some of them might be dissociation.  Some might be called a trance state.  Some are spiritual/metaphysical.  Some or all of them might be related.  It seems too much of a coincidence that I have experienced all of them.  None of these were triggered by the use of drugs, alcohol, herbs or any mind altering substance.

 

   “1. Partial brain shutdown:  I am only partially aware of what is going on.  For example, I could tell that a person next to me is making word sounds, but not what the person is saying.  I am taking in things but not able to process at all.  I can continue very simple repetitive movements but cannot talk or doing anything requiring any thought.  Pretty scary.  I don't get these anymore, but they were common in high school.

 

   “2. Brain shutdown, mental vacation, spaced out:  My mind just shuts down except for vital functions like breathing.  (I remain standing or sitting or what ever position I was in.)  I do nothing but stare blankly.  Time passes and I have no memory of it passing.  In my teen years, in my room I would often have instances where I realized I had been staring at the wall or a blank sheet for a half hour to an hour.  They are less serious now, thought it tends to happened a couple times a month in the shower.  It is easily broken by my husband yelling at me that I will be late for work though the bathroom door.

 

   “3. Daydreaming:  Sometimes I will become so lost in my own thoughts or a pleasant day dream that I tune out the outside world.  I am not sure if this is properly called an altered state or not.

 

   “4. Open, receptive, trance:  I am not interacting at all with the outside world or physical world.  During this time I am in tune with the either the inner world (my subconsious thought, inner self, etc.) or the spirit world.  During this time I am open to visions, feelings, etc.  I can currently do this at will now, though usually I will opt for #5 instead.

 

   “5. Open, receptive, light trance, both worlds:  This is like number 4 except that I am able to interact with both the physical and non-physical world at the same time with no more distraction than I would have with a normal conversation.  I believe this is my current default state and I can enter into it at will.  I think there may be a little bit of a continuum between 4 and 5. 

 

   “6. Disconnected:  My body feels like it is not firmly connected to my mind/spirit/soul.  I feel like I am watching my life rather than actively living it.  Emotions and physical sensations may be blunted or numb.  Interaction with the world is not impaired.

 

   “7. Bliss:  A sense of deep peace, calmness, serenity.  This is usually triggered by repetitive movement (crochet or other craft) or music with an hypnotic or psychedelic quality.  Having to concentrate on something else breaks the bliss.  Normally I am not thinking anything at all, just experiencing feelings and sensations, though sometimes my mind can wander around during this time and maintain the state of bliss.  I am thinking this is perhaps the state of Nirvana some seek to obtain though meditation.  I also feel like perhaps it is similar to what some people may experience on drugs.”

- Ilah, adult probable Aspie from USA

 

·  Some individuals seem more susceptible to falling into a light trance. Some of us are in a state of permanent contemplation and function well in that state, when left in peace.

 

   “I will zone out when thinking or contemplating, withdraw into myself during parties, and develop tunnel vision and extreme distance during times of stress. I believe all these things are Aspie traits, although I suppose trauma victims will fall into one of these mental retreats too. the difference is that for people who have suffered trauma, such withdrawing might be an emergency mechanism, whereas I have degrees of it constantly.”

- Tom, adult Aspie from USA

 

·  In other instances the trance or altered state is so deep that it makes any activity or social interaction impossible and little development would take place if the person was left in it for too long (according to autistic consultant Iris Johansson who herself had the tendency to space out as often as possible when she was a child). However, even unwanted trance states one needs to come out of slowly and gently. Anything harsh and abrupt is a no-no!

 

·  Sometimes medical conditions, e.g. allergies, can induce brain fog that is totally involuntary.

 

 

benign DISSOCIATION

 

   Not every type of dissociation is negative or caused by trauma. Some of us appear to use milder forms of it as a strategy to get by in this stressful world. It might actually be a good and useful strategy if one is as sensitive as many of us are and so easily get overwhelmed. If we didn’t have this ability, we might otherwise go nuts from emotional or sensory overload.

 

   “I am also finding myself detaching more - like going into my own world more - but still with a foot in the door of reality - like just functioning at the bare necessity - but I kind of find the detaching helpful and am used to it anyway.”

- Julie, adult Aspie from England

 

   “This is my most common symptom [of stress]. I actually develop a sort of tunnel vision and begin to feel as though my body is a vessel which I reside inside of. The more I am stressed, the deeper I live in it until it seems as though everyone and everything is more like a movie I watch on TV than anything real.”

- Tom, adult Aspie from USA

 

   “Yes, me too. I think I've developed a rather useful response to stress which rarely makes me reach high levels of frustration. As people start to put more and more conflicting demands on me I simply detach more and more. When I do this I am also able to hyperfocus on the important points instead of all the irrelevant stimuli the environment feeds you with. That's why I think I work most efficiently under stress but still never comes anywhere near being burnt out.”

- Leif, adult Aspie from Sweden

 

   “I understand that this is called dissociation. As far as I understand many people on the autism spectrum are able to dissociate. I know I live the biggest part of my days in dissociation; it is a 'tool' for me to live my life and I like it.

 

   “There seem to be many assumptions/concepts like the one that 'one should suffer before being allowed to feel fine'. I used to believe these ideas, but I have left most of them behind me during my life when I could see for myself that many of those assumptions are just not true to me. I think that learning how to deal with pain is one of life's challenges and where one is supposed to be 'creative'.

 

   “Of course it is good to notice painful situations, because it helps one to change strategy or concepts, or whatever. It is a sign to do things in a different way. But if you have found a way to handle painful situations (f.e. dissociation) and you really handle that (knowing how to change not being dissociated when reality needs you to be 'present') I think it is a great tool to avoid unnecessary stress.”

- Lida, adult Aspie from the Netherlands

 

   “I have a theory about dissociation.  I think some people are ‘natural dissociators’ who can dissociate even if they have not suffered from a traumatic event or abuse.  These people are able to use dissociation to cope with normal stresses or even boring things.  One drawback to this might be dissociating unintentionally.  Because people who have had traumatic experiences sometimes show this trait, psychologists over generalize and assume anyone who dissociates has had a traumatic experience.  And if you try to tell them otherwise that might claim you repressed it or are in denial.”

- Ilah, adult probable Aspie from USA

 

 

BUBBLE

 

   Some of us feel as if living in a bubble, which we do not necessarily wish to come out of.

 

   I’ve always felt as if I was protected by some sort of bubble which somewhat protects me from the rest of the world. When one is as sensitive as I am, such a protective bubble is very useful indeed! It also keeps me feeling generally relaxed and hyperfocused on the here and now.

- Inger, site-author

 

  “At home I have everything arranged the way I want it and keep noise to a minimum. When alone, I do not answer the phone unless I am expecting a call and ignore the doorbell. I have the curtains drawn to keep out sunlight and prefer to keep the windows closed to keep out noise from the outside world. I tend to record TV programs so I can fast forward through commercials, which I consider jarring and rude. I listen to the radio very seldom because what's played is to cater for a wide audience and I only like a few songs, thus I am more inclined to spend a day recording the few songs I like off the radio and listen to the tape over and over again until I get bored with it. All to keep my bubble intact.” 

- Tom, adult Aspie from USA

 

   “I have a big ’personal bubble’ and just knowing there are people closer than 500 m makes it impossible for me to fully relax, even in my sleep.”

- Matilda, adult Aspie from Sweden

 

 

Poor SENSE OF TIME

 

   Those with an intuitive personality type and right brain hemisphere often have a very poor sense of time in general, and even more so when focusing on something. It is also a typical effect of trance, dissociation, meditation, hyperfocus & creativity – the deeper the trance and the more intense the hyperfocus, the less one’s awareness of time and the faster time appears to fly by.

 

   “Time in itself doesn't mean anything to me. When I have to estimate how much time I have spend on doing some task, I don't have any idea if I didn't just marked the starting and finishing hour. I also don't know how to take a break from